Haaland shows Gyokeres how to score goals

I can understand Mikel Arteta being frustrated with his team’s performance against Wolves but at the end of the day, criticising his players is merely a reflection of his own failings. He said, “The margins should have been bigger” and a short period of “unacceptable, horrible defensive habits” were nowhere near the level he requires. But […]

I can understand Mikel Arteta being frustrated with his team’s performance against Wolves but at the end of the day, criticising his players is merely a reflection of his own failings.

He said, “The margins should have been bigger” and a short period of “unacceptable, horrible defensive habits” were nowhere near the level he requires. But again, I say, who’s fault is that? Isn’t that what intense weekly training is all about?

I can understand Arteta feeling downhearted but at the end of the game they did just about register a win but it was last season at around this time, when leading the title race, they started dropping points which resulted in a huge £270million investment upgrading their squad.

There was much noise about bringing in a new striker but choosing Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres is proving to be questionable. After the Wolves match many supporters were asking “Where was our striker?” Thank goodness the Gunners still have Bukayo Saka who assisted in both Arsenal goals.

When playing for Sporting, Gyokeres had a signature move, running into space in behind the defence, very often as part of a counter attack and he used his physical presence and speed to leave defenders stranded. Arsenal are different and do not need a striker doing that because Saka and Gabriel Martinelli wait for oppositions to line up their defence high up the field and the Arsenal midfield and defenders feed high passes for them to run on to. Gyokeres isn’t needed in that strategy.

If you compare Gyokeres to Erling Haaland the difference is clear to understand. Both strikers have to work their way around deep defensive blocks which is the modern way of defending. Haaland for instance has received far fewer chances since joining Manchester City but he still manages to score goals and sometimes when his presence in the match is minimal he is always running energetically around creating space for others to operate in.

 

No room for Kobbie Mainoo in United’s midfield

Kobbie Mainoo is still considering leaving Old Trafford in January despite replacing Casemiro in the 61st minute against Bournemouth on Monday evening.

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim is aware of the situation but he has not spoken with Kobbie but simply said, “The team comes first and if Kobbie comes to me and talks to me, I will talk to him…I am not going to tell you what I will say but I will be really pleased if he comes to talk to me about the situation.”

Amorim has settled on his favourite pair Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes this season and Kobbie would have to replace the United captain as No10 and there is little chance of that happening. He is also frustrated by the arrival of Bryan Mbuemo and Matheus Cunha which has further pushed him into a supporting role.

Amorim insisted that there are still chances for Kobbie if United revert to three midfielders but at the moment he is happy with his chosen pair for the middle of the field.

 

Rogers delighting at Villa

Morgan Rogers is a very hot property at the moment. Aston Villa fought hard to keep him during the summer transfer window and several key members of the club management team abandoned their holidays to combine and fight off approaches from Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. His price rose to £80million and the Villa team succeeded in keeping him at Villa Park.

At 23 he is now on the England manager Thomas Tuchel’s list of players he wants to take to the World Cup. Rogers is an excellent example of what modern football is all about…he is strong, athletic, intelligent and dynamic. A player who can read a game and dribble past defenders often resulting in a powerful shot on goal.

Morgan prefers to play on the left wing but can operate in a number of positions which gives Unai Emery options. He already has five goals this season and is aiming to reach double figures. Against West Ham he bagged two goals, one of which was a superb effort after taking a pass from Victor Lindelhof and shooting into Alphonse Areola’s net.

The final word from Unai Emery, “I need to push him sometimes, he is growing up quickly and has a huge mentality. He is funny and focused in the dressing room and very popular.”

 

Thomas Frank finding Tottenham a tough task

You have probably read that Thomas Frank is under serious pressure at Tottenham and even he admits that he has a much more difficult job at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium than his previous long-standing comfortable position at Brentford.

Horrified supporters could only watch in pain as goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario took on the role of Santa Claus and presented a gift to Archie Gray to set up Callum Hudson-Odoi for Nottingham Forest to assert superiority over Tottenham. Despite fielding a strong forward line of Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons, Randal Kolo Muani and Richarlison, Tottenham only managed one shot on goal.

After finishing 17th last season the club’s owners, the Lewis family and the CEO Vinai Venkatesham sacked Ange Postecoglou and replaced him with Frank. The deal was, less theory and more action. Win games he was told.

Managing Brentford was relatively easy because they are a small club performing above their status. Tottenham is a completely different situation, still being one of football’s biggest clubs

 

Newcastle vs Chelsea

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe and his battered team, after the 1-0 defeat to Sunderland, take on a Chelsea side who are sitting fourth in the table. The Blues’ coach Enzo Maresca will field a strong team with Cole Palmer back to fitness, Reece James surviving recent injury scares and Wesley Fofana slotting back into the defence after his time on the sidelines with the medical team. Howe has problems with his backline as Tino Livramento sustained a knee injury in the midweek 2-1 Carabao Cup victory over Fulham and joins Dan Burn, Lewis Hall, Kieran Trippier and Emil Krafth on the sidelines ahead of a busy Christmas schedule.

Maresca fielded almost a second team in the midweek EFL Cup match against Cardiff so as not to risk players for this game. The only notable change from the Premier League match draw against Bournemouth last time out is Joao Pedro instead of the injured Liam Delap.

Both teams played midweek cup games but Newcastle have managed one more rest day which they badly needed.

Eddie Howe will once again trust Nick Woltemade upfront despite his Xmas present to Sunderland of an own headed goal last Sunday.

Both these teams can be great on their day but they can also go to sleep and both managers are in a position where they have to succeed, probably greater pressure is on Eddie Howe but it should be a tough fought game and my Chelsea contacts suspect a draw might be on the cards.

Tottenham vs Liverpool

Two teams who have had more than their fair share of troubles this season. Liverpool have almost said goodbye to their title chances whereas Tottenham’s Thomas Frank is fighting to hold on to his job. The team is still trying to recover from the mauling by Nottingham Forest who beat them 3-0.

All is not well with Spurs and they have been defeated by Chelsea, Fulham, Bournemouth and Arsenal and in all those matches their performances were poor. Thomas Frank said his calm face hid a “hurricane inside” him and there were displays of pure anger from the players such as Djed Spence hurling his jacket to the ground after being subbed.